The present invention relates to an improved rethermalization cart assembly, and more particularly, to a rethermalization cart assembly wherein each shelf of the cart has a plurality of individually releasable heater pads which have varying thermal patterns. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a rethermalization cart assembly which can be hose-washed during the washing operation.
The purpose of this rethermalization system is to permit cold plating of patient meals in advance so as to achieve maximum productivity from an institution's (i.e. hospital's) kitchen staff. The cold plating of the meals enables the staff to prepare three meals per standard eight hour shift thus eliminating the evening shift that previously prepared the dinner meal. Plating the meals in advance also allows the staff to prepare the next day's breakfast meal the day before, eliminating the need for the morning work shift to start early in the morning.
Representative of a prior rethermalization cart assembly is U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,391 to Bourner. In Bourner, an electrical system is provided which includes a rocker switch projecting into an area above each shelf which actuates heating elements under the tray depending upon the orientation of the cover of the food tray on the shelf of the cart. Not only does providing such exposed rocker switches inside the cart present a problem of steam-cleaning the cart, but it also increases the chances that if the cover is not in the correct orientation due to the movement of the cart, the food in the trays will be improperly heated or cooled. This problem would be alleviated if the switches for each tray level were remote from the shelf and were protected from accidental contact.
Additionally, each shelf of the Bourner cart has a single shelf thermal plate having a plurality of heating pad elements thereon, each corresponding to the heating requirements of one of the compartments of the tray. If, however, one of the heating elements fails or is damaged, the entire shelf thermal plate must be replaced. As such, the labor and cost involved in replacing the shelf thermal plate are greatly increased. These replacement costs would be reduced, however, if each heating element was a separate releasably secured plate, and therefore, field replaceable without affecting any adjacent heating elements.